Malian M5 RFP Propose 18 to 24 month Transition

The June Opposition Movement that saw numerous Malian citizens in the streets of Bamako calling for the resignation of the now-ousted ex-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita proposed a transition back to civilian power of 18 to24 months — to the military coup leaders who ousted him.

Issa Kaou Djim, M5RFP Strategy Committee member, spoke to the press, "The army is for the people and by the people. So, their inclusivity was well understood but it was good to create a framework for consultation."

The text has not been published. But the M5 proposes "a transition of 18 to 24 months" with civilians heading a transitional presidency, government and assembly, one of its leaders, Choguel Maïga, told AFP.

The colonels promised this transition, of duration as yet unspecified, and the M5 claims to be, along with the military, the main protagonist, commensurate with the role it played in the fall of former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, known as "IBK", on August 18.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has already threatened immediate sanctions only to be lifted upon The National Committee for the Salvation of the People junta carrying out a successful transition within a year.